As the DC Studios universe expands, James Gunn is methodically building up his roster and has added another top comedic name for what is to come on television. Deadline can confirm that Mary Holland, the well-regarded actress and comedian of Ghosts and The Big Door Prize, has inked a deal to be the female lead in an as-yet-untitled Superman spinoff for TV. In this series about Jimmy Olsen, the Daily Planet’s star photographer, Holland will take on the part of Sandra, an enigma. She joins an ensemble that is already in place with Skyler Gisondo once again in the role of Jimmy Olsen and Jimmy Tatro coming on as the comic book villain Gorilla Grodd.
Working under titles such as American Villain, the show leans heavily into its mockumentary true-crime angle. Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault, the creators of American Vandal, are writing and executive producing and will run the show; they have their sights on the odder side of the DC Universe through an investigative journalist’s eyes. Viewers will not find any cape-and-cowl brawling here, but rather the staff of the Daily Planet at work on some local metahuman matter, all told with the kind of satirical verve one would expect from the showrunners.
A Deconstructive Approach to Superhero Lore
In bringing in Holland to share the screen with Tatro and Gisondo, DC Studios is signaling a clear shift in the tone it wants to set under Gunn and Peter Safran. There is a certain deadpan, journalistic gravity with which the studio, via the talents of Yacenda and Perrault, intends to approach the absurdity of the source material. It is a way of offering a fresh perspective on the usual superhero fare on television, eschewing cosmic doom for the comedy of everyday journalists having to deal with super-powered types and the like.
Placing Gorilla Grodd in a true-crime investigation highlights the ingenuity of the new DCU plan. The franchise is not above genre experimentation; television is being used as a sandbox for voices of a particular style, not simply as a means to tie in the movies. Should the writers bring the same satirical finesse to the page as they have before, the Jimmy Olsen project may well turn out to be an unlikely hit.
Redefining the Boundaries of the Comic Book Adaptation
Equally noteworthy is how a major studio is dealing with secondary lore these days. The project underscores a more mature sensibility. For all these years, a Jimmy Olsen was relegated to sidekick duty or served to provide some levity while Superman had his troubles. A series of his own centers on the reporter and the common man and the collateral damage left by gods and monsters.
It is a sound strategy to forestall any weariness in the shared universe by venturing into unorthodox subgenres. DC Studios has found that if you frame your high-concept comics in a grounded, character-driven mockumentary, you are likely to tell a better story in the trenches where the news is made than out on the Metropolis skyline.